Disney's Aladdin (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Disney's Aladdin (Genesis).

This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

This early build of Aladdin, as the in-game text would suggest, was used for demonstration purposes at the Consumer Electronics Show. However, Summer CES 1993 occurred on June 3-6 whereas the date on the debug screen is June 27, so it's likely this build was further developed from the actual CES build and wasn't actually presented on the show floor.

This build was dumped in 2016, and then later officially released in 2019 as an extra in Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King.

To do: So, so much more.

ROM Header#

At this point in development, the build uses a placeholder "The Jungle Book" header with a date of September 1993.

SEGA GENESIS    
(C)VRGN 1993.SEP
THE JUNGLE BOOK     

THE JUNGLE BOOK                                 
GM T-70196 -00у»J
U     

General Differences#

• Selecting a level at the debug menu doesn't actually send you to that level, but will instead send you to the normal main menu, and only after pressing the Start Game button the game will send the player to the selected level.
• Skipping the splash screen with logos of Disney Software and Virgin Games will result in main menu music not playing.
• Main menu music doesn't loop and stops playing after reaching the ending.
• Pressing the Start anywhere on the main menu will start the game, even if pressed in the options menu.
• Cutscene backgrounds have animated parts that were removed in the final game.
• The crouch attack has a shorter cooldown.
• The apple throw attack has no cooldown, so pressing the button too fast will result in nothing being thrown.
• All enemies have noticeably more health, taking more sword/apple hits to defeat even than in final game on the Difficult settings.
• The boxing bell sound effect doesn't play on the animation that plays after losing a life, even though it's already present in the game and can be listened in the sound test.
• The game can't be paused, as pressing the Start button opens the debug menu.
• Getting a game over sends the player to the debug menu instead of the main menu.
• This version of the game has a unique sound effect that doesn't exist in the final game called "MADE YOU LOOK" in the sound test, that, as the name suggests, plays during the game over screen where Genie reenacts that same moment from the movie. This sound effect was removed from the final game, making this screen fully silent.
• Cutscenes for Sultan's Palace and Jafar's Palace use portraits of Aladdin that aren't used in any of the final game's cutscenes.

Opening Screen#

Upon booting up the game, you're greeted with a debug screen that looks and functions nearly identically to the one seen in the final game.

• CHEAT MODE - Player is invincible.
• START ON LEVEL - Level select.
• FREEZEABILITY - Holding Start will freeze the game in place, likely for use in taking screenshots. (Pressing Start normally will return you to this screen.)
• MAP VIEW MODE - Freely move the camera throughout the level. Moving the camera too low will cause you to lose a life.

On the top, it reads NTSC if you are playing on a NTSC console or PAL.

• RAM BYTES USED - Calculates the amount of RAM Bytes that are used.
• RAM BYTES LEFT - The amount of RAM Bytes that are left.

To be clear, maximum amount of RAM is 65536 Bytes, or 64 Kilobytes.

• ROM BYTES USED - Calculates the amount of ROM Bytes that are used.
• ROM BYTES LEFT - The amount of ROM Bytes that are left.

Adding both together will form the maximum amount of ROM Bytes, 2097152 (2 Megabytes, in other words).

• MAX TILES TO MAKE MAP - Maximum amount of tiles to make maps.

The entire text can be seen at offset 001359B0 to 00135E10.

       'ALADDIN' - CHICAGO C.E.S. SHOW
        WORK IN PROGRESS DEMONSTRATION

       (C)1993 VIRGIN GAMES BY DAVID PERRY
             ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

            TEL: (714) 833 8710  
                 FAX: 8717         
         RAM BYTES USED : 00000     
         RAM BYTES LEFT : 00000     
         ROM BYTES USED : 0000000       
         ROM BYTES LEFT : 0000000  
         
         MUSIC & SOUND FX USES : 000000        
         WORD ADDRESSES LEFT : 00000         
         ROOM FOR SPRTLIST.68K : 00000         
         MAX TILES TO MAKE MAP : 0000      
         
         CHEAT MODE :   
         START ON LEVEL :                  
         FREEZEABILITY :                  
         MAP VIEW MODE :  
         
         PRESS THE 'START' BUTTON  
         
         SUN 27TH. JUNE 1993
ON OFF   
-->  

    PAL STANDARD 50HZ SEGA MEGADRIVE
    NTSC STANDARD 60HZ SEGA GENESIS

DAVID PERRY, YOU CAN CHEAT NOW!

AGRABAH ROOFTOPS
AGRABAH MARKET  
ABU IN AGRABAH  
THE DESERT      
SULTAN'S DUNGEON
CAVE OF WONDERS 
ABU IN CAVE     
ESCAPE FROM CAVE
RUG RIDE        
INSIDE THE LAMP 
SULTAN'S PALACE 
JAFAR'S PALACE  
JAFAR'S QUARTERS

Crash Handler#

A crash handler for when things break, showing the error that was encountered, current values of some registers, and a request to fax the error message for further debugging.

• It has the date of 16th January, 1991, which is nearly 2 years before it was released.
• D.P. is the signature of David Perry.
• A list of errors can be found at offsets 001B4840-001B4B50.

D.P.'S 68000 CRASH ANALYSIS! 16/1/91 *  
PLEASE FAX VALUES TO: (714) 833 8717
BUS ERROR - NOT ALLOWED TO ACCESS HERE! 
ADDRESS ERROR - THAT ADDRESS WAS ODD! 
ILLEGAL INSTRUCTION - NO EXECUTING DATA 
ZERO DIVIDE - DON'T TRY TO DIVIDE BY 0!
CHK 
TRAPV 
PRIVILEGE- ONLY WHEN IN SUPERVISOR MODE
TRACE 
LINE 1010 
LINE 1111 
RESERVED 
UNINITIALIZED 
VECTOR  
D : $A : 
$READ WRITE INSTRUCTION WAS TRYING TO DO A  
EXTERNAL DEVICE CAUSED ERROR!  
CRASHED ACCESSING ADDRESS $  
INSTRUCTION REGISTER = $  
STATUS REG. FLAGS :T.S..<M>...XNZVC  
STATUS REGISTER = %  
PROGRAM COUNTER = $  
USER STACK POINTER = $  
WEIRD ERROR MAN!  
USER MODE DATA REFERENCE  
USER MODE PROGRAM REFERENCE  
SUPERVISOR MODE DATA REFERENCE  
SUPERVISOR MODE PROGRAM REFERENCE  
INTERRUPT ACKNOWLEDGE

A similar screen can also be found in RoboCop vs. The Terminator.

Sega Screen#

Proto	Final

In the prototype, Genie is dressed as a cheerleader like in the movie waving his arms around. In the final version, Genie is dressed as a referee with a starter pistol and stopwatch. Genie shoots the gun, starts the watch, and accidentally hits Iago, who plummets to the ground with a flurry of feathers. The word "presents", exclusive to the final version, appears underneath the Sega logo soon afterward.

Level Intros#

Most levels have an introductory cutscene. The character portraits were mostly redrawn and the dialogue was rewritten to actually make some sense. In the prototype, all cutscenes use the Cave of Wonders entrance for the background, whereas the final game uses a variety of different backgrounds. The entire in-game text can be found at addresses 00135E10 to 00136C30.

Agrabah Market#

The Desert#

Proto	Final

Agrabah Rooftops#

Proto	Final

Sultan's Dungeon#

Cave of Wonders#

The Escape#

Proto	Final

Inside the Lamp#

Proto	Final

Sultan's Palace#

Jafar's Palace#

Cut Enemies#

Two enemies were cut from the final game. These include a sword throwing enemy who grabs a sword from his throat in the Agrabah Market and a prisoner trying to cut off his shackles in Sultan's Dungeon.

The Prisoner was refined prior to the final release before he was cut. However, the ROM for the Final Cut used in for the Disney Classic Games Collection has his finalized sprite inserted into the code, suggesting that there were plans to bring back cut features.

Stages#

Demos#

• Aladdin acts erratically in the demos. He will get a Game Over on all of the demos if invincibility is disabled, as if it was seemingly intended for an older build of the game.
• The demo cycle is as follows: Argabah Rooftops, The Desert, Sultan's Dungeon, Cave of Wonders, and Rug Ride.
• The amount of crystals, and apples will remain, while the score will reset.

Agrabah Market#

• The music is different.
  • Prototype BGM: Friend Like Me
  • Final BGM: Prince Ali
• Has a significantly higher enemy count and harder platforming sections that were simplified in the final game.
• The end of the stage has a fight with Gazeem rather than towards the end of Agrabah Rooftops.
• A cut sword thrower enemy is present and appears several times throughout the level. Most instances of it were replaced with a knife juggler in the final game.
• The basket enemy has a few frames that are unshaded.
• Iago has an extra frame that goes unused in the final.
• The pot thrower is a pencil test and can't be defeated due to being imprevious to damage.

The Desert#

• The music is different.
  • Prototype BGM: Arabic Ne Naw
  • Final BGM: Camel Jazz
• Aladdin can bypass most of the ruins in this stage.

Agrabah Rooftops#

• Due to the fact that Gazeem was fought earlier, he is replaced by a knife juggler.
• Razoul's fight takes place on a staircase rather than in scaffolding. Ironically, the stairs make Razoul easier to defeat as Aladdin can simply jump up the stairs and slash him repeatedly.

Sultan's Dungeon#

• The music is different.
  • Prototype BGM: Gloomy Tune
  • Final BGM: Arabian Nights
• A cut chained prisoner enemy is present and appears several times throughout the level, albeit with a broken palette.

Cave of Wonders#

• The music is different.
  • Prototype BGM: Camel Jazz
  • Final BGM: Gloomy Tune
• Monkey statues don't take damage from sword attacks and thus can be destroyed only by throwing apples at them.
• The fight with the Shiva Monkey has four teleportation pads rather than two.

The Escape#

• The music is different.
  • Prototype BGM: Rug Ride
  • Final BGM: Arab Rock 2
• The boulders look different than in the final. However, this same design was refined in the DOS and Amiga ports.
• The tileset is extremely unfinished and basic.
  • The background is the same as Cave of Wonders, but red, which itself got used in Rug Ride.
  • The platforms are less-detailed, along with the lava.
• The collapsing platforms do work, but unfinished and can cause glitches if collided with solid ground whilst standing on the platform, akin to the v0.02 prototype of Sonic CD. The lava might be semi-solid.
  • In fact, the same platforms are used in the Cave of Wonders level.
• You can't finish this stage.
• Aladdin can walk on lava as solid ground, more akin to Sonic 2's Simon Wai Prototype.

Rug Ride#

Very unfinished level, only background, platforms and huge boulders falling from the holes above exist here. Beating this level will send you to the desert level.

Inside the Lamp#

The level is a tower that Aladdin must climb up in order to finish. There is no music or sounds. The smoke trails are not semi-solid, so Aladdin must ride on bowling balls in order to get across. There is a head that looks like Goofy from Mickey Mouse at the start of the level.

Sultan's Palace#

The fish in this level are placeholder sketches. Beating this level will send you to the desert level. To beat it, you set MAP VIEW MODE to ON, and go left.

Jafar's Quarters#

An unfinished version of the level. No enemies spawn and Iago cannot be damaged. Iago will occasionally play his injured animation.

Jafar's Palace#

• The level background is different.
• Some of the palace background is missing.
• The floor spikes are curvier and have a gold tint instead of a red tint.
• A lot of floor spikes are absent, many have been replaced with balls and chains.
• Balls and chains also appear where there is nothing in the final game.
• Jafar is present in both his normal and cobra form for testing purposes.
  • Beating this level (Defeating Cobra Jafar in one hit) will send you to the desert level. There is no ending.
• (Human) Jafar and balls and chains have an incorrect palette.
  • The balls and chains were imported from the Dungeon level, which is why it has a incorrect palette.

Unused text#

BONUS LEVEL

While the bonus level cannot be accessed using the level select, this text would remain.

DAVID PERRY, YOU CAN CHEAT NOW!

Since the debug menu is activated automatically, this text is never seen as the screen upon activating the debug cheat still exists in the ROM, unused.

• The final version is changed to AH, DAVID PERRY, WHAT IS YOUR WISH?

SEGA
PRESENTS
DISNEY SOFTWARE
AND VIRGIN GAMES
CO-PRODUCTION OF
DISNEY'S ALADDIN
ALL CHARACTERS AND RELATED
INDICIA ARE TRADEMARKS OF
THE DISNEY CORPORATION.
LICENSED BY SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD.

VIRGIN CREDITS
PROGRAMMING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
DAVID PERRY
ANIMATION PRODUCED BY
MIKE DIETZ
SOUND, MUSIC & FX
TOMMY TALLARICO
STEVE HENIFIN

ASSISTANT ANIMATORS
SHAWN MCLEAN
ROGER HARDY
EDWARD SCHOFIELD
ALLYN WELTY

BACKGROUND ART BY
CHRISTIAN LAURSEN
NICK BRUTY
STEVE CROW

DIRECTOR OF DESIGN
DAVID BISHOP

LEVELS DESIGN BY
BILL ANDERSON
TOM TANAKA
SETH MENDELSON

PRODUCED BY
ROBB ALVEY

QA MANAGER
ADAM RYAN

QA TEAM
JARED BRINKLEY
SCOTT MANNING
PAUL SCHONER
CHRIS MCFARLAND

DISNEY SOFTWARE CREDITS

PRODUCED BY
PATRICK GILMORE

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
RONALD FORTIER

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
MARC TERREN

DISNEY FEATURE ANIMATON CREDITS

DIRECTED BY
PAUL CURASI

PRODUCED BY
CHUCK WILLIAMS

  ANIMATON  
THE ALADDIN ANIMATORS
  SEGA OF AMERICA CREDITS
PRODUCT MANAGER
PAMELA KELLY

QA MANAGER
STEVE PATTERSON

SPECIAL THANKS TO
JOHN MUSKER
AMY PELL
RON CLEMENTS
BARRY COOK
THE GENIE

  OUR OTHER GAMES...
GLOBAL GLADIATORS
   COOL SPOT
THE JUNGLE BOOK

GOTTA FLY....

     WARNING!           
THIS CARTRIDGE MAY ONLY   
BE USED IN THE COUNTRY WHERE
IT WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED.

AGRABAH 1     
AGRABAH 2     
THE DESERT    
THE PRISON
THE PALACE  

The text for the credits can be found on offset 00136C30 to 00137280